Amazon not honouring offer of return for refund

NotMyName51

Hi everyone, I’m hoping for some guidance on a consumer rights issue.

I bought a new iPhone from Amazon on 11 June 2024. From day one it has had a charging fault — it only charges after a reboot. I tried multiple cables but the problem persists.

Unfortunately, I didn’t contact Amazon until 4 June 2025. Customer Service initially offered a repair. I explained I rely on the phone for work and can’t be without it for the 2+ weeks they estimated. At that point I was offered the option of returning it for a full refund, and I specifically asked whether this was time-sensitive. They told me it wasn’t, so I tried a few more cables first. The issue continued.

In November, I contacted Amazon again to proceed with the return/refund, but was told that only a repair is available. They reviewed the chat from June and confirmed I had been offered a refund on return, but said the agent gave me incorrect information, and that repair has only ever been the only option they can provide.

A repair still isn’t workable for me: I’m self-employed, it’s my only phone, they can’t give a loan device, and they can’t confirm the repair timeframe beyond “a minimum of two weeks”.

I asked to escalate and was given the email customer-request-attachment@amazon.co.uk, but I’ve had no response from it. I’ve since emailed back and forth with cs-reply@amazon.co.uk but the replies are copy-and-paste and don’t address the actual issue.

My questions:

• Given they confirmed the refund offer was made, do they have to honour it even if it was “incorrect” information at the time?

• What is my legal position here, considering the fault was present from day one but I raised it late?

• Is there another email or escalation route I should try? The current one is going nowhere.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated — thank you!

eskbanker

After all this time, you don't have the right to insist on a full refund, even though they suggested otherwise, so if the repair is something you feel is unworkable then I suspect the most pragmatic response will be to live with it - by definition, if you've been using the phone for 18 months and don't feel you can manage without it, the fault isn't critical?

MyRealNameToo

SarahBDE said:

Hi everyone, I’m hoping for some guidance on a consumer rights issue.

I bought a new iPhone from Amazon on 11 June 2024. From day one it has had a charging fault — it only charges after a reboot. I tried multiple cables but the problem persists.

Unfortunately, I didn’t contact Amazon until 4 June 2025. Customer Service initially offered a repair. I explained I rely on the phone for work and can’t be without it for the 2+ weeks they estimated. At that point I was offered the option of returning it for a full refund, and I specifically asked whether this was time-sensitive. They told me it wasn’t, so I tried a few more cables first. The issue continued.

In November, I contacted Amazon again to proceed with the return/refund, but was told that only a repair is available. They reviewed the chat from June and confirmed I had been offered a refund on return, but said the agent gave me incorrect information, and that repair has only ever been the only option they can provide.

A repair still isn’t workable for me: I’m self-employed, it’s my only phone, they can’t give a loan device, and they can’t confirm the repair timeframe beyond “a minimum of two weeks”.

I asked to escalate and was given the email customer-request-attachment@amazon.co.uk, but I’ve had no response from it. I’ve since emailed back and forth with cs-reply@amazon.co.uk but the replies are copy-and-paste and don’t address the actual issue.

My questions:

• Given they confirmed the refund offer was made, do they have to honour it even if it was “incorrect” information at the time?

• What is my legal position here, considering the fault was present from day one but I raised it late?

• Is there another email or escalation route I should try? The current one is going nowhere.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated — thank you!

They dont have to honour the wrong advice from another member of staff, there can be an argument that if you had sustained additional losses then potentially there could be some liability but from what you say you didnt suffer anything. 

If the phone is so critical for you then why dont you have a backup? What's the plan if it fails one day? 

Its really your choice if you continue living with it as it is and as you have for 18 months or send it in for repair and buy a budget phone to just tied you over whilst its away and keep it for emergencies if your main phone ever breaks, is stolen etc. 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Couple of things OP, if you have purchased for work it's unlikely you'll be a consumer and they are entitled to repair.

Incorrect advice is poor but Amazon CS is overseas and generally not that great. 

Not sure what you need the phone for, plenty of cheap ones for calls and texts, if you need other things modern smartphones can do then an older second hand model shouldn't set you back too much.

Amazon are probably offering a repair under warranty but if you were a consumer and they wasn't they could ask you to show the phone is "faulty" rather than the matter being down to misuse or such so accepting a no quibble repair isn't a bad option for you overall  

Ayr_Rage

If it had a fault from day one it should have been returned as faulty straight away.

You've left it far too long and your only option is to take the repair option and buy yourself a cheap spare to use whilst it's away.

Emmia

I have to agree, why didn't you raise the issue as soon as it was apparent?

saajan_12

SarahBDE said:

My questions:

• Given they confirmed the refund offer was made, do they have to honour it even if it was “incorrect” information at the time?

• What is my legal position here, considering the fault was present from day one but I raised it late?

• Is there another email or escalation route I should try? The current one is going nowhere.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated — thank you!

As you didn't report it in the first 30 days or indeed the first 6 months, all you can now do is report and give them the opportunity to repair / replace / refund at their choice. It may naturally take 2 weeks to repair. You may also have to prove the fault if since its over 6 months, which they don't seem to be enforcing so you're actually coming out ahead. 

Your rights are unchanged by a statement made - that's essentially a promise not a new contract. Promises are unenforceable - at most if you took steps based on the promised refund, but you didn't here. 

Other routes - yes,
- get a cheap backup phone for 2 weeks and get them to fix, or
- contact a local phone repairer and get a (paid) fix while-you-wait 

NotMyName51

Thank you everyone. It is very helpful for me to understand where I stand. 

To respond to a few of the questions:

• True, the error is not "critical" in that the phone otherwise works. It is, however, annoying, especially for a phone that expensive. 
• Because the phone was useable and I had other, more pressing issues going on, I failed to address this issue in good time. 
• I don't have a backup in case it fails for the same reason I don't have a backup in case my car fails, even though that is critical for my work and life, too. 

It is interesting to know that promises made by representatives of the company aren't necessarily valid, which is different in my home country. 

Thank you all so much for taking the time to respond. 

Aylesbury_Duck

SarahBDE said:

Thank you everyone. It is very helpful for me to understand where I stand. 

To respond to a few of the questions:

• True, the error is not "critical" in that the phone otherwise works. It is, however, annoying, especially for a phone that expensive. 
• Because the phone was useable and I had other, more pressing issues going on, I failed to address this issue in good time. 
• I don't have a backup in case it fails for the same reason I don't have a backup in case my car fails, even though that is critical for my work and life, too. 

It is interesting to know that promises made by representatives of the company aren't necessarily valid, which is different in my home country. 

Thank you all so much for taking the time to respond. 

A backup phone and sim can be obtained for a few pounds, which is quite different from the cost of obtaining and keeping a backup vehicle.  It would be very sensible to have a backup phone if your business depends upon permanent connectivity.  A car can be hired in an emergency.

eskbanker

SarahBDE said:

• I don't have a backup in case it fails for the same reason I don't have a backup in case my car fails, even though that is critical for my work and life, too.  

That analogy doesn't really fit very well - part-exchanging cars when upgrading is far more common than doing so for phones, so many people will retain old handsets that can still be used if needed.  And the criticality of a phone for contactability, etc, when self-employed can often be supported with a cheap and cheerful handset capable not just of calls but also many other smartphone functions, which is obviously not an option for car ownership.

And even for cars, there will often be backups available in different forms if really necessary, e.g. public transport, getting lifts, hiring cars, etc, although to be fair there are sometimes courtesy cars that would equate to what you were hoping for here....

powerful_Rogue

SarahBDE said:

Hi everyone, I’m hoping for some guidance on a consumer rights issue.

I bought a new iPhone from Amazon on 11 June 2024. From day one it has had a charging fault — it only charges after a reboot. I tried multiple cables but the problem persists.

Unfortunately, I didn’t contact Amazon until 4 June 2025. Customer Service initially offered a repair. I explained I rely on the phone for work and can’t be without it for the 2+ weeks they estimated. At that point I was offered the option of returning it for a full refund, and I specifically asked whether this was time-sensitive. They told me it wasn’t, so I tried a few more cables first. The issue continued.

In November, I contacted Amazon again to proceed with the return/refund, but was told that only a repair is available. They reviewed the chat from June and confirmed I had been offered a refund on return, but said the agent gave me incorrect information, and that repair has only ever been the only option they can provide.

A repair still isn’t workable for me: I’m self-employed, it’s my only phone, they can’t give a loan device, and they can’t confirm the repair timeframe beyond “a minimum of two weeks”.

I asked to escalate and was given the email customer-request-attachment@amazon.co.uk, but I’ve had no response from it. I’ve since emailed back and forth with cs-reply@amazon.co.uk but the replies are copy-and-paste and don’t address the actual issue.

My questions:

• Given they confirmed the refund offer was made, do they have to honour it even if it was “incorrect” information at the time?

• What is my legal position here, considering the fault was present from day one but I raised it late?

• Is there another email or escalation route I should try? The current one is going nowhere.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated — thank you!

So phone purchased 11th June 2024 which you stated was faulty upon arrival.

Didn't report the fault until 4th June 2025 and then when offered a full refund for it's return you said you would try a few more cables which took another 5 months. Doesn't sound right to me, however it's a business purchase so no consumer rights.